Santosh Trophy 2022 | Karnataka beat Gujarat, make it to semis
💙On Monday, Karnataka defeated Gujarat 4-0 to advance to the semifinals of the 75th Santosh Trophy, where they will face hosts Kerala. Odisha needed only a draw to secure a semi-final position on the penultimate day of league matches, but they were at their wasteful best and fell 0-2 to Services.
𝓡The math leading up to this last group B stage match was straightforward: Karnataka needed to win by at least three goals. Karnataka accepted the challenge and produced an outstanding first half, with forwards Sudheer Kotikela (12', 29') and Kamalesh P (28') almost securing their chance within the first half-hour.
🔯Magesh Silva (60') sealed the thrashing, ensuring their advancement to the last-four, where they will face a tough test on April 28 against hosts Kerala. Bengal will face Manipur in the other semi-final on April 29. Bengal has won the tournament a record 32 times. Gujarat were barely able to breathe for the first 30 minutes as Karnataka launched a barrage of attacks on their opponent's goal.
🦩They ultimately seized the lead when Kotikela found himself with the ball on the edge of the box and curled the ball into the top right corner after a half-cleared corner. At the boundary of the Gujarat area, Kamalesh received a square pass from D Arun Kumar, swapped feet, and cut past Harshil Parekh and Muhammed Sagar Ali for a brilliant finish.
🐽Prashanth Kalinga found space on the right side of the box and curled a wonderful cross into Karnataka's box within a minute. Kotikela scored the first-time goal despite being surrounded by two defenders. A cross from D Arun Kumar on the left, just after the hour mark, dropped the ball perfectly for Magesh Selva to seal the tally.
🗹Earlier, Services beat 10-man Odisha 2-0 in the Santosh Trophy, thanks to goals from Vivek Kumar and Nikhil Sharma in the second half. Odisha lost several chances, notably in the first half, when they only needed a draw to join Manipur in the semi-finals from Group B.
💎With a header from captain Vivek in the 74th minute, the Priya Darshan-coached Services broke the deadlock. He ascended to his highest point in order to nod the ball into the bottom corner. Chinmaya Sekhar Behera, the Odisha goalkeeper, got a hand on the ball, but it wasn't enough to keep it out.
✤Odisha failed to clear their lines eight minutes later, and replacement Sharma scored with a first-time strike. The displeasure was palpable, and in the 87th minute, Abhishek Rawat's late challenge on Deepak Singh reduced Odisha to ten men.
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